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College hockey: Gophers' Haula scores twice in 4-2 win at St. Cloud State

From news services

Posted:
02/08/2013 12:01:00 AM CST

Updated:
02/09/2013 12:04:28 AM CST

ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Erik Haula scored two goals to lead the top-ranked University of Minnesota men's hockey team to a 4-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over St. Cloud State on Friday night, Feb. 9.

The top-ranked Gophers (19-4-4, 11-4-4) scored twice while the teams were skating four-on-four in the third period. Haula, who leads the Gophers in scoring with 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists), broke a 2-2 tie at 9:32, and Nate Schmidt followed with an insurance goal 58 seconds later.

"We just had to go out and play hard-nosed in the third period and let the chips fall where they may," said Schmidt, who set up Haula's second goal.

The eighth-ranked and WCHA-leading Huskies (17-11-1, 14-6-1) tied the score on Drew LeBlanc's power-play goal at 3:59 of the third. Joey Benik scored St. Cloud State's other goal.

The Gophers' Nick Bjugstad opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season at 8:45 of the first period.

The Gophers, who trail the Huskies by two points in the WCHA standings, outshot St. Cloud State 42-24, with goalie Adam Wilcox improving to 18-3-4.

The teams play again at 7 p.m. Saturday in St. Cloud.

Minnesota's series next weekend against Wisconsin features an outdoor showdown at Chicago's Soldier Field at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 17.